Along with null fill, beam tilt is the essential parameter controlling the focus of radio communications, and together they can create almost infinite combinations of 3-D radiation patterns for any situation.īeam tilt optimization is a network optimization technique used in mobile networks aiming at controlling the inclination of the vertical tilt angle of the antenna in order to optimize a set of network performance indicators.ĭifferent studies in beam tilt optimization focus on Coverage-Capacity Optimization (CCO), for which the goal is to control the beam tilt in order to jointly optimize the radio coverage and capacity in the network cells and reduce interference from neighbouring cells. Occasionally, mechanical and electrical tilt will be used together in order to create greater beam tilt in one direction than the other, mainly to accommodate unusual terrain.

Remote electrical tilt is abbreviated as RET and it is part of the Antenna Interface Standards Group's open specification for the control interface of antenna devices. In GSM and UMTS cellular networks, mechanical tilt is almost always fixed whereas electrical tilt can be controlled using remote actuators and position sensors, thus reducing operating expenses. The use of purely electrical tilt with no mechanical tilt is an attractive choice for aesthetic reasons which are very important for operators seeking acceptance of integrated antennas in visible locations. In almost all practical cases, antennas are only tilted down – though tilting up is technically possible. On the contrary, mechanical downtilting will make the front lobe tilt down and the back lobe tilt up. This is the property used in the above example where the signal is pointed down in all directions. For example, an electrical downtilt will make both the front lobe and the back lobe tilt down. With electrical tilting, front and back lobes tilt in the same direction. This is extremely useful when the antenna is at a very high point, and the edge of the signal is likely to miss the target (broadcast audience, cellphone users, etc.) entirely. More common is electrical beam tilt, where the phasing between antenna elements is tweaked to make the signal go down (usually) in all directions. Horizontal and vertical radiation patterns, the latter with a pronounced downward beam tilt

Fm tilt stereo tools